Food & Health – Hybrid Learning

What’s the Difference Between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist?

Batoota — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:34:20 +0000

What’s the Difference Between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist?

A dietitian is a board-certified food and nutrition expert who may provide medical nutrition therapy and counseling. Some dietitians refer to themselves as nutritionists. But, nutritionist isn’t a regulated term in every state. You may be wondering what defines true expertise in nutrition. Perhaps you have heard the terms “nutritionist” and “dietitian” and are confused by what they mean. This article reviews the differences between dietitians and nutritionists, what they do, and the education required. It focusses on definitions and regulations in the United States and addresses international ones only to a small degree.

What a dietitian does

In the United States and many other countries, a dietitian is a board-certified food and nutrition expert. They are highly educated in the field of nutrition and dietetics — the science of food, nutrition, and their impact on human health.

Through extensive training, dietitians acquire the expertise to provide evidence-based medical nutrition therapy and nutritional counseling tailored to meet an individual’s needs.

They are qualified to practice across a span of settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, research institutions, or local communities, to name a few.

Degrees and credentials required

To earn the credentials of Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), a person needs to complete the criteria set forth by governing bodies like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) in the United States or the Dietitians Association of Australia (1, 2).

Additionally, in some countries, people may earn the title of “registered nutritionist,” which is synonymous with “registered dietitian” and requires certification from a governing body.

These are professional organizations that oversee the field of dietetics in their respective countries.

To clarify, the credentials of RD and RDN are interchangeable. However, RDN is a more recent designation. Dietitians can choose which credential they would rather use.

To earn these credentials, dietitians-to-be must first earn a bachelor’s degree or equivalent credits from an accredited program at a university or college.

Typically, this requires an undergraduate science degree, including courses in biology, microbiology, organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology, as well as more specialized nutrition coursework.

As of January 1, 2024, all dietetics students must also hold a master’s degree to qualify for their RD board examination in the United States (3).

In addition to formal education, all dietetics students in the United States must apply for and be matched with a competitive internship program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND).

Similar internships may be required in other countries.

Internships typically expose the student to 900–1,200 unpaid supervised practice hours across the 4 domains of practice, with careful adherence to competencies, or specific areas of study, complemented by in-depth projects and case studies outside of those hours.

Furthermore, the student must usually pass an exit exam mirroring the content of the board exam before completing the internship. The successful completion of these requirements qualifies them to take a board examination.

Finally, a dietetics student who passes the board exam in their respective country can apply to become a registered dietitian.

Licensure

Earning dietitian credentials requires national board certification.

What’s more, 13 states, including Rhode Island, Alabama, and Nebraska, require that dietitians be licensed in order to practice. The remaining states either don’t regulate this profession or provide state certification or optional licensing (4).

The process of licensing sometimes has additional requirements, like passing a jurisprudence exam. This is meant to ensure that dietitians practice under a code of conduct to protect public safety.

The dietitian must also continue their professional development by completing continuing education credits, which helps them keep up with the ever-evolving field.

Types of dietitians

There are four main domains of practice for dietitians — clinical, food service management, community, and research.

Clinical dietitians are those who work in an inpatient hospital setting. Outpatient dietitians may also work in a hospital or clinic, but they work with people who aren’t admitted to inpatient care and are usually less ill.

Both inpatient and outpatient dietitians provide support to the medical team to treat many acute and chronic illnesses. Dietitians in long-term care facilities may also supervise the nutrition of people with serious conditions that require ongoing care.

They follow standards of practice and detail a person’s medical history and current status, including lab work and weight history. This allows them to assess acute needs, prioritizing life-threatening conditions.

Inpatient and outpatient dietitians also provide nutrition education to people with specialized needs, such as those newly out of surgery, in cancer treatment, or diagnosed with chronic illnesses like diabetes or kidney disease.

In the outpatient setting, they give more in-depth nutritional counseling working towards a nutrition-oriented goal.

Dietitians may also work in other settings like research hospitals, universities, or food service management.

They can advocate for public policies and provide expertise in the community setting, such as school districts or public health organizations like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Food service management dietitians oversee the production of nutritionally adequate food that meets food safety guidelines within a large organization, such as a school district or military base.

A community dietitian can help design and implement programs aimed at populations instead of individuals, such as community cooking initiatives or diabetes prevention interventions. They can also advocate for public policies with a focus on nutrition, food, and health issues.

Research dietitians typically work in research hospitals, organizations, or universities. They operate within a research team headed by a primary investigator and carry out nutrition-focused interventions.

Once dietitians have earned their credentials and are working in the field, they can go on to specialize in a particular subcategory, such as pediatrics or sports dietetics.

Finally, dietitians may also run private practices to provide services like nutritional counseling.

They may additionally teach in an academic or research institution or write about nutrition-related topics. Others may work as health and nutrition experts in media or as public speakers.

Conditions dietitians treat

Dietitians are qualified to manage nutrition therapy across a span of acute and chronic conditions. The type of conditions they treat depends most on the setting of their practice.

This means that they can treat nutrition problems that may arise from cancer or its treatment, as well as work with a client to prevent the onset of diabetes.

In hospitals, they treat a range of people, such as those who are clinically malnourished, as well as those who require nutrients via feeding tubes.

Dietitians also treat people undergoing bariatric (weight loss) surgery or those with kidney issues, as these individuals can have many nutritional restrictions and benefit from individualized care to fully meet their bodies’ needs.

Eating disorder dietitians have usually acquired additional training or education to treat this population. They work with a team of psychotherapists and doctors to help individuals recover from these disorders (5Trusted Source).

Eating disorders include chronic starvation (anorexia nervosa) or binging and purging (bulimia) (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).

Sports dietitians specialize in optimizing nutrition for enhanced performance in athletes. These dietitians may work in gyms or physical therapy clinics, as well as with a sports team or dance company (7Trusted Source).

SUMMARYDietitians can apply their expertise across a broad range of settings, such as hospitals, research institutions, and sports teams. They may prescribe nutrition therapy to help treat or prevent acute and chronic illnesses.

What a nutritionist does

In some countries, people may translate their title as “nutritionist” rather than “dietitian,” though their educational background closely resembles that of a dietitian.

In the United States, the title “nutritionist” may encompass individuals with a broad range of credentials and training in nutrition.

In over a dozen states, certain qualifications must be met before an individual can call themselves a nutritionist. Additionally, accredited certifications grant titles like Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) (8).

In most states, those who receive these certifications have the authority to practice medical nutrition therapy and other aspects of nutrition care.

In many states, such as Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, RDs and CNSs are granted the same state license, usually called a Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN) license.

In states that don’t regulate the use of this term, anyone with an interest in diet or nutrition may call themselves a nutritionist. These individuals may apply their interest in nutrition to anything from running a food blog to working with clients.

However, because uncredentialed nutritionists typically lack the expertise and training for medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling, following their advice could be considered harmful (9Trusted Source).

Before consulting a nutritionist, you may want to check whether your state regulates who may use this title.

Degrees and credentials required

In the U.S. states that don’t regulate the term, no degrees or credentials are required to be a nutritionist. You simply need an interest in the field.

In states that do mandate licensure, the CNS or RD credential may required.

Those with CNS credentials are health professionals like nurses or doctors with advanced health degrees who have sought out additional coursework, completed supervised practice hours, and passed an exam overseen by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists.

Conditions that CNSs and other nutritionists treat

In the United States, CNSs have legal standing to treat health conditions in most states.

Over a dozen states also regulate the title “Licensed Nutritionist” or the more generic “nutritionist.”

CNSs or nutritionists with licensure may help treat any condition that an RD would.

Like RDs, CNSs prescribe nutrition therapy, which is specific care meant to manage or treat illnesses or other conditions. CNSs may also oversee community nutrition education programs.

Nonetheless, those without credentials or licensure may pursue approaches to nutrition that are outside the scope of traditional medicine. While some of these approaches may have robust scientific backing, others may not.

Giving nutrition advice without the proper knowledge and training can be harmful, especially when counseling those with health conditions.

As such, if you are considering consulting a nutritionist, you may want to ask if they are a CNS or have state licensure or certification, or another credential.

SUMMARYIn the United States, the term “nutritionist” encompasses a broad range of credentials and expertise. Several states specifically regulate this term. Additionally, nutritionists may pursue an advanced CNS certification.

The bottom line

Dietitians and CNSs are credentialed, board-certified food and nutrition experts with extensive training and formal education.

Depending on where they live, dietitians and nutritionists like CNSs may also need to meet additional requirements to be licensed to practice.

Dietitians and CNSs can apply their expertise across a range of settings, including hospitals, academic institutions, and food service management. Some specialize in working with specific populations, such as children, athletes, or those with cancer or eating disorders.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the term “nutritionist” is regulated by certain states but not others. Thus, in many states, anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.

Though these titles can sometimes be easy to confuse, remember that professionals with the titles “RD” or “CNS” have advanced degrees in nutrition.

Anti-Diet Experts Unpack Body Neutrality

Batoota — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 07:04:01 +0000

Posts on body positivity have been floating around social media as pushback to diet culture. These messages encourage folks to fall and stay in love with their bodies, regardless of what they look and feel like.

Still, body shame is prevalent and has tangible effects. That means the pressure to feel great about your body each and every day may feel unattainable.

When we talk about bodies, health, and nutrition, it can feel hard to be stuck between forced positivity or shame coming from healthcare professionals.

To break down the concept of body neutrality and learn about its importance, read on to hear from health and body image experts.

Ask the experts: ‘What does body neutrality mean to you?’

Shana Spence RDN, CDN of Nutrition Tea: It’s the understanding that we are not always going to love our bodies for various reasons, but we should have a respect for them.

Nutrition Therapist and Intuitive Eating Counselor Ayana Habtemariam MSW, RD, LDN of Truly Real Nutrition: Life just comes with transitions and so do our bodies. [They’re] meant to evolve. We have to make an effort and find a way to adjust.

Dalina Soto, MA, RD, LDN of Your Latina Nutrition: It’s important for everyone to know that you won’t love your body every day, and that’s okay. You still need to nourish it and take care of it.

Jessi Kneeland, author and body neutrality coach: Given the world we live in, I do genuinely believe the mentality [of body neutrality] is our birthright. It’s just seeing your body for what it is.

Missing a part of the conversation

Shana Spence, RDN, CDN, of Nutrition Tea says that the body positivity movement has taken notes from the fat acceptance movement, but left behind important intersections.

This means it’s failing to champion the folks who need the most support.

“Body positivity has really become a movement for thin women who have belly rolls when bending over,” says Spence, a self-proclaimed “eat anything” dietitian who pushes against food restriction and body shaming.

“It’s a far cry from the movement that fat black women started which was about bringing to light actual weight stigma and discrimination that those in larger bodies face,” she says.

Of course, your personal approach to nurturing your body is completely up to you.

Still, it’s important to recognize that pushing a general and total body positivity perspective does nothing to address the stigma that folks in larger bodiesTrusted Source face.

This discrimination is amplified for those who are BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, or any other marginalized identity.

“You can’t self-love your way out of the way society treats you.”

— Shana Spence, RDN, CDN

The importance of representation

All of the experts spoke about their desire for folks of varied sizes, genders, sexualities, abilities, races, and ethnicities to feel at home in their bodies, despite what Western media may portray.

What is the benefit of having different types of bodies represented in the nutrition and health space?

Habtemariam: Representation fosters a sense of community and belonging. If diverse bodies were adequately represented, more people would feel safe within these spaces.

Marisa Moore, RDN, LD: Representation matters and can have a direct impact on healthcare outcomes. Having providers who can deliver size-friendly care helps reduce biases and other barriers to effective care.

Having different types of bodies represented in the nutrition and health space normalizes that healthiness shows up in many different shapes, sizes, forms, and faces.

Spence: The space is overwhelmingly white, able-bodied, and straight-sized, so people who don’t identify in those categories have a hard time believing that advice or messages can apply to them.

Especially when talking about cultural foods because so many cultural foods are on the “do not eat” lists (white rice, bread, potatoes, tropical fruits, etc.) that diet culture gives out until the industry finds a way to make a profit off of them.

Christie Melonson, LPC and Regional Psychotherapy Director with Mindpath Health: This legitimizes the fact that different types of bodies exist naturally, and that people are supposed to look different. This emphasizes the idea that one size does not fit all.

Valerie Agyeman, RD, and Women’s Health Dietitian with Flourish Heights: There is also a lack of imagery all around, especially when it comes to skin complexion and even hair textures.

There is a gap and the only way for it to be filled is if the mainstream media puts more diverse faces and voices at the forefront of wellness.

Kneeland: I feel it’s the very least that we can do right now. Good lord, can we just have regular people being shown?

It just seems like the simplest way to make things a tiny bit less oppressive, because when you see people of all shapes and bodies and abilities and genders represented, then you are in a position of being able to see yourself.

Soto: Body diversity is real, so we need people of all body types and abilities doing all types of movement and just living life.

“Representation matters and can have a direct impact on healthcare outcomes. Having providers who can deliver size-friendly care helps reduce biases and other barriers to effective care.”

— Marisa Moore, RDN, LD

Hopes and lessons for the future

These experts are doing their part to shift the state of our health systems, either by consulting with businesses and organizations about how they treat their employees or working directly with folks who want to better their overall health.

They shared some of their lessons learned thus far and their hopes for healthcare moving forward.

What have you learned about your own body through this work?

Habtemariam: My needs are ever-changing. There is no such thing as a perfect way for me to eat or move my body. It changes depending on the season of life that I’m in.

Melissa Alazraki RD, CDCES of Culina Health: I am a woman in America and came of age in the 90’s, so I have plenty of my own noise around weight and body and eating behaviors — I’m on the journey too.

I’ve learned that I can trust my body to tell me when it’s full. I’ve learned to be kinder to myself. I’ve also learned to respond to changes in my body’s size and shape in an objective, nonchalant way.

Patrilie Hernandez, CEO of Embody Lib: I was diagnosed with an eating disorder when I was 32 at the time, so I was older than what we think of when people are diagnosed with an eating disorder. I lived in a larger body. I was a person of color.

Standout: “A narrative in many communities of color is that ‘people like us’ don’t get eating disorders. That’s a ‘white woman thing.’

That kind of opened the door for healing but also a lot of learning and a lot of unlearning around what this means in communities like mine, and how this points to larger systemic issues that drive folks to feel like disordered eating is the only way to survive.”

What is one thing you want people to understand when it comes to health and their body size?

Habtemariam: Despite what we all have been conditioned to believe, you are not obligated to pursue society’s shallow, one-dimensional idea of health. We can define what health is for ourselves.

Agyeman: We really need to look at the bigger picture and redefine “healthy.”

We need to look at it from a whole health standpoint looking at personalized, sustainable lifestyle changes that benefit both emotional and physical health through things like sleep hygiene, stress management, mental and emotional health, access to nutritious foods and resources.

“Body sizedoes not dictateTrusted Sourceor determine health. Because you can be a thin person who’s unhealthy or a fat person who’s healthy.”

— Jessie Kneeland, Body Neutrality Coach

So given that that’s true, we can just separate these things for the rest of our lives and never think about it again, and instead look at habits instead of weight as markers for health.

Melonson: BMI is not an accurate measure of whether an individual is healthy or not.

[When it comes to health] it is important to consider additional factors such as body composition, muscle mass, where fat is distributed as well as the presence or absence of disease and our ability to do what we need to do with our bodies.

Spence: There are plenty of folks in larger bodies who eat nutritious foods, exercise, and have great lab work, but are still told to lose weight.

I also want to make it clear that health is not a moral value. Someone’e worth does not equate to their health status. Not just because of genetics but because of the systemic barriers in place.

Takeaway

When terms become commonplace on the internet, it can be hard to cut through the noise and get to the root of it may really mean.

When it comes to health and wellness spaces, many of us have been subject to messaging that pushes either changing who we are or loving our bodies no matter what. For many, neither of those options feel feasible.

But, body neutrality is about accepting your body for what it is and doing what you can to take care of it.

These body neutral and nutrition focused experts agree that shifting away from practices that solely center weight is paramount, and that fatness is not a measure of health or worth.

As the new year rolls in, consider centering your wellness from a holistic sense and doing what feels good for you. If you’re looking for support, the experts above may be able to help or point you in the right direction of someone in your area!

Home Remedies to Lower Cholesterol Levels

Batoota — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 13:02:38 +0000

High cholesterol levels can cause concern, and it’s normal to feel anxious about it. Many worry about the risks associated with high cholesterol, medications’ costs, and potential side effects. Your doctor may suggest statins or other drugs to lower your cholesterol if your levels remain high.

Research suggests that those with elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol may benefit from statins, as they have been linked to a lower risk of heart attack and stroke. Nevertheless, these drugs may come with some unwanted side effects. In addition, with so many different cholesterol drug types available, it can be challenging to know where to start.

But you can make a few simple changes to your diet and lifestyle that can be beneficial. For example, using natural methods to reduce your cholesterol may reduce the medication you need to take. Additionally, some ingredients in everyday kitchen items can help reduce high cholesterol levels.

Explore the healthy and feasible home remedies mentioned below to manage your cholesterol for a healthy you.

What Function Does Cholesterol Serve?

Cholesterol is an essential lipid found in the body. Typically, the body receives the cholesterol it needs from the liver and animal food sources. Usually, the body excretes any extra cholesterol. However, due to various reasons, sometimes, this system doesn’t always work correctly or is overwhelmed, which can lead to increased cholesterol levels in the blood.

You can now check your cholesterol levels at home with the HealthifyMe Metabolic Panel. This comprehensive and personalised test shows 85+ other parameters in addition to your blood lipid profile. This information can help you make more informed decisions and progress steadily toward your health objectives.

Cholesterol is necessary for survival, but having too much of it can be damaging. The body needs it to perform several essential functions. These processes include:

It helps build layers around the cell membranes, which protect the cells. You can regulate what enters and exits your cell with the help of these layers.
Aiding the production of bile in your liver, which is essential for the digestion of food.
It assists in producing sex hormones, vitamin d, and other hormones in your body.

Home Remedies to Manage Cholesterol like a Pro

Lowering your cholesterol naturally may seem challenging. Nevertheless, a few simple steps in lifestyle changes make it easier to manage your cholesterol levels.

Increase Your Fibre Intake

A healthy diet should contain both soluble and insoluble forms of dietary fibre to reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies have shown that soluble fibre can help lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels, often referred to as the “bad cholesterol” due to its increased risk of heart disease.

Dietary fibre acts like a sponge, helping to absorb fat and cholesterol when you eat fatty or cholesterol-rich foods, thus lowering your blood cholesterol levels.

Even when eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, soluble fibre can still help lower cholesterol. Sources of soluble fibre include oats, legumes, fruits (such as oranges, pears and apples), peas, and psyllium. This soluble fibre helps to regulate your blood sugar levels and thus reduces the production of additional cholesterol.

Consume Adequate Turmeric

For optimal results, you should incorporate turmeric into your meals regularly. It reduces plaque buildup in arteries and has antibacterial properties.

Studies suggest that having curries, vegetable dishes, and sabzi that contain turmeric can help manage cholesterol levels. Additionally, drinking a glass of turmeric milk before bedtime can be beneficial.

Astragalus

Astragalus, a plant commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, is believed to have an adaptogen-like effect, which means it can help the body withstand various kinds of stress.

It also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Additionally, research suggests that astragalus may provide certain cardiovascular benefits like managing lipids.

Eat Raw Amla Or Drink Amla Juice

According to a study, consuming one or two amla fruits daily can considerably lower bad cholesterol levels. Amla, rich in vitamin C, is one of the excellent natural therapies for lowering cholesterol. Additionally, it aids in the regeneration and repair of bodily tissues.

Drink Green Tea

According to research, green tea contains catechins and other antioxidant substances that may help lower “bad” LDL and total cholesterol levels in the body and keep you feeling energetic. So consuming green tea every day can aid in lowering high cholesterol.

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements Produced From Fish Oil

Fish and fish oils are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Particularly abundant sources include herring, sardines, lake trout, salmon, tuna, and other fatty fish.

According to a study, omega-3 fatty acids in fish lower the chance of developing heart disease. Therefore, the additional nutrients found in fish can protect your heart health. Furthermore, combining those nutrients plus omega-3 fatty acids can make it more effective.

Eating one or two portions of fatty fish per week may decrease your risk of a heart attack. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements and other meals high in these fatty acids may be helpful if you have heart disease. Walnuts, canola oil, and soybeans are a few examples of good sources.

Garlic

Garlic is renowned for its health benefits and has become a staple in Indian cuisine. It is composed of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and molecules with sulphur-containing oxygen, all of which are the active components that give garlic its medicinal properties.

Various scientific studies have demonstrated that garlic consumption can significantly reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels.

Coriander Seeds

Ayurveda uses Dhaniya seeds to treat various illnesses, one of which is reducing harmful cholesterol levels. Coriander seeds contain essential vitamins, such as vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin A, and beta-carotene.

Consuming these seeds first thing in the morning can help boost your body’s good cholesterol (HDL) levels and decrease bad cholesterol levels (LDL).

Fenugreek Seeds

Methi seeds, also known as fenugreek, have been used since antiquity as a spice, flavouring agent, and medicinal herb. They are rich in vitamin E and possess anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.

Research has revealed that the saponins and fibre in fenugreek can reduce cholesterol levels and inhibit its production in the liver. Therefore, taking ½ to 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds is generally recommended daily.

The HealthifyMe Note

There is no one-time fix to reduce your cholesterol levels, but continued effort can result in significant progress over the long term. If cholesterol levels are unstable, consider looking into home remedies along with dietary intervention under supervision of qualified nutritionists for high cholesterol. These approaches are generally low-cost, easy to obtain, and may help you achieve your health goals.

Some Lifestyle Modifications to Lower Cholesterol

Living a healthy lifestyle affects your cholesterol balance significantly. Therefore, it is crucial to be aware of the factors that can have a lasting effect on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels.

To positively influence your cholesterol, you should incorporate physical activity and healthy eating into your daily routine.

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise can significantly benefit a person’s health, promoting the elevation of good cholesterol and reducing bad cholesterol. Unfortunately, the sedentary lifestyle of many people over the age of 40 can be detrimental to their health, leading to increased cholesterol levels.

To prevent this, it is best to begin each day with a few minutes of mild stretching exercises, such as the cobra stretch, knee to chest, child’s pose, and side stretch along with a regular schedule of brisk walking for 20-30 minutes..

Stop Smoking

Quitting smoking can be challenging, but smoking raises cholesterol levels to a great extent, hence modification of lifestyle is essential for better health.

It is very probable that when one stops smoking, these effects will disappear. In fact, after quitting smoking, HDL levels can begin to increase in as soon as three weeks.

Moderate Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol consumption is a prominent health issue in today’s society. While regular drinkers may have difficulty stopping altogether, it is best to limit or avoid alcohol consumption as excessive drinking can increase cholesterol levels and cause other problems.

Get Access to Several Other Strategies with the Pro Support

Frequent medical examinations and awareness of your cholesterol level are paramount to avoiding the potential for severe diseases due to high cholesterol levels.

The only warning sign of high cholesterol may be an acute ailment such as a heart attack or stroke, so it is essential to receive advice on how to keep it under control.

HealthifyMe, the most popular health and wellness platform globally with more than a million users, offers a ground-breaking invention. This HealthifyPro package includes a blood lipid panel test that includes lipid test to monitor cholesterol levels.

Depending on the results, the expert nutritionists help you create a customised plan to combat the condition. The benefit of the Pro package is that it includes another test after three months to monitor your progress.

The programme includes several elements to treat lifestyle disorders caused by metabolic irregularities and poor lifestyle choices, which often manifest as being overweight, underweight, or obese.

These include using sophisticated metabolic panel testing to swiftly measure cholesterol levels and trained coaches to help manage any medical disorders to which you may be more prone.

This revolutionary approach combines the expertise of renowned nutritionists and trainers with the latest technology to create customised diet and exercise plans based on a person’s metabolic profile. Valuable for anyone looking to make lifestyle changes, this is a priceless tool that utilises both traditional wisdom and modern advancement.

Conclusion

With so many people worldwide dealing with cholesterol-related issues, you must take action to prevent them. Adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes nutritious eating and regular physical activity is key to avoiding long-term, potentially deadly complications.

However, don’t let yourself be complacent; now is the time to switch from an inactive and unhealthy lifestyle to one that promotes vitality and wellness. Doing so will help you steer clear of cholesterol-related problems and live a long and healthy life.

How I Kept My Sense of Humor

Batoota — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 09:24:09 +0000

It’s remarkable to watch a five-year-old draw, void of any anxiety about what the world will think. We all start our lives creatively confident, happy to create and share our work with pride. And then, as we age, our comfort with creative expression declines. We’re discouraged by the learning curve of creative skills and tools, by our tendency to compare ourselves to others, and by the harsh opinions of critics. As Picasso famously quipped, “All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.”

Well, we’re entering an era that changes everything. A few critical technology breakthroughs and fundamentally more accessible platforms are changing everything. From free web-based tools with templates that help conquer the fear of the blank screen to powerful generative artificial intelligence that conjures up anything from a text prompt, expressing yourself creatively no longer requires climbing creativity’s notoriously steep learning curve.

Most of those who have succeeded in life can trace their success back to the essential education they obtained from parents, teachers and/ or friends.
T-Ralph Olaniyi

People from communities of color are underrepresented in publishing. Our books make up less than six percent of the titles released each year, and that’s despite a century of fighting against the gatekeepers. The results of this systematic exclusion are clear: we are also elided from the national conversation, starting in elementary school. Those who live in this country are trained by textbooks, libraries, classrooms, TV, and cinema to see US life as almost exclusively white.

The Death of Creativity’s Learning Curve

There is so much else to praise

Welcome to an era in which the friction between an idea, and creatively expressing that idea, is removed. Whether it is as an image, an essay, an animated story, or even a video, you can simply talk about what you see in your mind’s eye.

“But that’s not real creativity!” some may exclaim. Until now, “creativity” has conflated both the generation of ideas and the process involved to express those ideas. Michelangelo, for instance, believed that each stone has a statue inside it and the sculptor discovers it by chipping away. Most artists today can’t afford 13 human assistants, but they use other tools to reduce the laborious parts of creativity, including AI-powered shortcuts, component libraries for product designers, templates, and now generative AI. This latest breakthrough has elicited both fanfare and fear because of its ability to conjure up an original piece of media based solely on a text prompt.

Of course, behind the scenes, the machine learning engines that drive AI creation were trained using millions of pieces of content from real artists, many of whom never consented to have their work used in that way. To correct this, I anticipate a series of regulations, evolutions in copyright law, new walled gardens and token-gated portfolio experiences, and new compensation models for artists that opt-in and/or allow the use of their style for GenerativeAI purposes.

Welcoming & Adapting to Ubiquitous Creative Confidence

As the expression of ideas becomes exponentially easier, the ideas themselves become more of the differentiator (yes, I think “Prompt Engineering” will become a discipline in and of itself!). Good ideas aren’t derived solely from logic and patterns of the past; they’re also the product of human traumas, mistakes of the eye, and uniquely human ingenuity. I am excited about AI, but I am ultimately long on creativity (aka humanity).

It’s important to distinguish pragmatism from the various forms of postmodern thinking

Much like every sport’s top athletes improve every generation, so should creatives. I would argue that AI is like some breakthrough new racket or sneaker — it almost unfairly elevates the game for every player and allows the very best to advance the game itself. Revolutionary tennis rackets and string technology allowed any weekend player to hit shots they never would have been capable of before. But it didn’t turn them into Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer. People with extraordinary talent, dedication, an

Becoming the Glue of a Family

Batoota — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 19:26:32 +0000

Most of those who have succeeded in life can trace their success back to the essential education they obtained from parents, teachers and/ or friends.
T-Ralph Olaniyi

The Death of Creativity’s Learning Curve

There is so much else to praise

Welcoming & Adapting to Ubiquitous Creative Confidence

It’s important to distinguish pragmatism from the various forms of postmodern thinking

Rheumatoid Arthritis Remission: 5 Things You Need to Know

Batoota — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 08:58:54 +0000

Rheumatoid arthritis is generally considered a chronic, lifelong condition. However, new treatments sometimes lead to dramatic improvements in the signs and symptoms of the condition. They can even prevent joint damage and lead to remission.

Doctors and people living with RA may both have remission as a goal. But they might not agree on exactly what remission means and what it looks like. You may think of remission as freedom from symptoms, while your doctor will follow a more technical medical definition.

Read on to get the facts about RA remission and the treatment approaches that make remission more likely.

Remission is hard to define

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has complex guidelines for defining RA remission. The guidelines look at many different numerical markers that measure how RA works in the body. This includes disease activity hidden from the person diagnosed with RA.

In essence, you could feel like your RA is in remission, but your doctor could evaluate the numbers, as well as X-rays and others imaging studies, and determine that you aren’t technically in remission.

A 2014 survey of people with RA shows this difference in perception. Only 13 percent understood remission as meeting a medical definition that measured disease activity. Instead, 50 percent said remission was the point of being “symptom free,” and 48 percent describe remission as “pain free.”

Understanding that the medical definition of remission can differ from your personal perception may help you stay on track with your treatment plan. Even if you’re feeling better, symptom improvement alone doesn’t mean you’re in remission. You shouldn’t stop taking your medication without talking to your doctor.

Many people experience RA remission

Because remission is hard to define, it’s also hard to know how many people actually experience remission. Even when remission is defined by the clinical criteria, studies use different timelines to measure rates. That makes it even harder to know how often it happens and for how long.

A 2017 review of RA remission studiesTrusted Source found that remission rates ranged from 5 percent to 45 percent, based on standard criteria. However, there was no standard period of time to define remission. To better understand future data, the review recommended setting standards for how long the low disease activity must last to qualify as remission.

These numbers may not seem encouraging. But it may help to remember that people often define remission differently than doctors. Some people may experience long periods of time living symptom free, even though they’re not technically considered to be in remission. Experiencing this improvement in quality of life and freedom from pain can be more important, for some, than meeting a technical definition.

Early intervention is a factor in remission rates

The 2017 reviewTrusted Source notes that an early intensive treatment approach is associated with higher rates of lasting remission. Researchers may discuss remission in terms of “early” versus “established” RA. One goal of early interventions is to start treatment before joint erosion, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

Even for those who have lived with RA for years, remission can sometimes occur. Early and aggressive therapy, however, may lead to better outcomes. Regardless of disease stage, it’s important to stay engaged with your doctor about your treatment plan.

Lifestyle may play a role in remission rates

Medications are a vital component of RA treatment, but lifestyle may also play a role in the likelihood of remission. A 2018 study found that about 45 percent of people who get early RA intervention don’t achieve remission within one year.

The study looked at what factors are the biggest predictors that individuals won’t go into remission. For women, obesity was the strongest predictor that study participants wouldn’t go into remission within one year of starting treatment. For men, smoking was the strongest predictor.

The researchers noted that prioritizing weight management and stopping smoking might lead to rapid reduction in inflammation. This is one of the main goals of RA treatment. In general, the study suggests that overall health may contribute to how effectively a treatment works.

Relapse can follow remission

People living with RA can go back and forth between remission and relapse. The reasons are unclear.

During periods of remission, most people with RA continue taking medication to maintain remission. This is because tapering off medication could lead to a relapse.

The ultimate goal is to have a drug-free, sustained remission. Research is ongoing to find new treatment strategies to accomplish this goal.

In some cases, medications may stop working. This may happen with biologics as well. The body can create antibodies that reduce the effectiveness of medications. Even if a therapy appears to be working successfully, relapse is still possible.

Aromatherapy

Batoota — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 17:50:11 +0000

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants (flowers, herbs, or trees) as a complementary health approach. The essential oils are most often used by inhaling them or by applying a diluted form to the skin. Many essential oils are used in aromatherapy, including those from Roman chamomile, geranium, lavender, tea tree, lemon, ginger, cedarwood, and bergamot.

Aromatherapy is sometimes used for insomnia, but we don’t know whether it’s helpful because little rigorous research has been done on this topic.

Aromatherapy is sometimes incorporated into massage therapy for various conditions, such as knee pain from osteoarthritis or pain, anxiety, and other symptoms in people with cancer.

One study of aromatherapy using two contrasting scents, lemon and lavender, in people under stress found that lemon had a positive effect on mood but neither scent affected stress indicators, biochemical markers of immune system changes, or pain control.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

The NCCIH Clearinghouse provides information on NCCIH and complementary and integrative health approaches, including publications and searches of Federal databases of scientific and medical literature. The Clearinghouse does not provide medical advice, treatment recommendations, or referrals to practitioners.

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://nccih.nih.gov/

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov(link sends email)

Know the Science

NCCIH and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide tools to help you understand the basics and terminology of scientific research so you can make well-informed decisions about your health. Know the Science features a variety of materials, including interactive modules, quizzes, and videos, as well as links to informative content from Federal resources designed to help consumers make sense of health information.

Explaining How Research Works (NIH)

Know the Science: 9 Questions To Help You Make Sense of Health Research

Understanding Clinical Studies (NIH)

PubMed®

A service of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed® contains publication information and (in most cases) brief summaries of articles from scientific and medical journals. For guidance from NCCIH on using PubMed, see How To Find Information About Complementary Health Approaches on PubMed.

Website: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

NCCIH has provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider(s). We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. The mention of any product, service, or therapy is not an endorsement by NCCIH.

Are You Considering a Complementary Health Approach?

Batoota — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 07:43:34 +0000

Are You Considering a Complementary Health Approach?

Millions of Americans use complementary health approaches. Like any decision concerning your health, decisions about whether to use complementary approaches are important. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has developed this fact sheet to assist you in your decision making about complementary health products and practices.

Take Charge of Your Health

Be an informed consumer. Find out and consider what scientific studies have been done on the safety and effectiveness of any health approach that is recommended to or interests you.
Discuss the information and your interests with your health care providers before making a decision.
Choose a complementary health practitioner, such as an acupuncturist, as carefully as you would choose a conventional health care provider.
Before using any dietary supplement or herbal product, make sure you find out about potential side effects or interactions with medications you may be taking.
Only use treatments for your condition that have been proven safe. Do not use a product or practice that has not been proven to be effective to postpone seeing your health care provider for your condition.
Tell all your health care providers—complementary and conventional—about all the health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

What do “complementary,” alternative,” and “integrative” mean?

“Complementary and alternative medicine,” “complementary medicine,” “alternative medicine,” “integrative medicine”—you may have seen these terms on the Internet and in marketing, but what do they really mean? While the terms are often used to mean the array of health care approaches with a history of use or origins outside of mainstream medicine, they are actually hard to define and may mean different things to different people.

The terms complementary and integrative refer to the use of non-mainstream approaches together with conventional medical approaches.

Alternative health approaches refer to the use of non-mainstream products or practices in place of conventional medicine. NCCIH advises against using any product or practice that has not been proven safe and effective as a substitute for conventional medical treatment or as a reason to postpone seeing your health care provider about any health problem. In some instances, stopping—or not starting—conventional treatment can have serious consequences. Before making a decision not to use a proven conventional treatment, talk to your health care providers.

How can I get reliable information about a complementary health approach?

It’s important to learn what scientific studies have discovered about the complementary health approach you’re considering. Evidence from research studies is stronger and more reliable than something you’ve seen in an advertisement or on a website, or something someone told you about that worked for them. (For tips on how to evaluate website information, see the NCCIH fact sheet Finding and Evaluating Online Resources on Complementary Health Approaches.)

Understanding a product’s or practice’s potential benefits, risks, and scientific evidence is critical to your health and safety. Scientific research on many complementary health approaches is relatively new, so this kind of information may not be available for each one. However, many studies are under way, including those that NCCIH supports, and knowledge and understanding of complementary approaches are increasing all the time. Here are some ways to find reliable information:

Talk with your health care providers. Tell them about the complementary health approach you’re considering and ask any questions you may have about safety, effectiveness, or interactions with medications (prescription or nonprescription) or dietary supplements.
Visit the NCCIH website (nccih.nih.gov). The “Health Information” page has an A–Z list of complementary health products and practices, which describes what the science says about them, and links to other objective sources of online information. The website also has contact information for the NCCIH Clearinghouse, where information specialists are available to assist you in searching the scientific literature and to suggest useful NCCIH publications. You can also find information from NCCIH on Facebook (facebook.com/nih.nccih), Twitter (twitter.com/nih_nccih), YouTube (youtube.com/c/nih_nccih), and Pinterest (pinterest.com/nccih).
Visit your local library or a medical library. Ask the reference librarian to help you find scientific journals and trustworthy books with information on the product or practice that interests you.

Are complementary health approaches safe?

As with any medical product or treatment, there can be risks with complementary approaches. These risks depend on the specific product or practice. Each needs to be considered on its own. However, if you’re considering a specific product or practice, the following general suggestions can help you think about safety and minimize risks.

Be aware that individuals respond differently to health products and practices, whether conventional or complementary. How you might respond to one depends on many things, including your state of health, how you use it, or your belief in it.
Keep in mind that “natural” does not necessarily mean “safe.” (Think of mushrooms that grow in the wild: Some are safe to eat, while others are not.)
Learn about factors that affect safety. For a practice that is administered by a practitioner, such as chiropractic, these factors include the training, skill, and experience of the practitioner. For a product such as a dietary supplement, the specific ingredients and the quality of the manufacturing process are important factors.
If you decide to use a practice provided by a complementary health practitioner, choose the practitioner as carefully as you would your primary health care provider. (To learn more, see NCCIH’s 6 Things To Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitioner.)
If you decide to use a dietary supplement, such as an herbal product, be aware that some products may interact in harmful ways with medications (prescription or over-the-counter) or other dietary supplements, and some may have side effects on their own. (To learn more, see the NCCIH fact sheet Using Dietary Supplements Wisely.)
Tell all your health care providers about any complementary or integrative health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

How can I determine whether statements made about the effectiveness of a complementary health approach are true?

Before you begin using a complementary health approach, it’s a good idea to ask the following questions:

Is there scientific evidence (not just personal stories) to back up the statements?
What is the source? Statements that manufacturers or other promoters of some complementary health approaches may make about effectiveness and benefits can sound reasonable and promising. However, the statements may be based on a biased view of the available scientific evidence.
Does the Federal Government have anything to report about the product or practice?
- Visit the NCCIH website or contact the NCCIH Clearinghouse to see if NCCIH has information about the product or practice.
- Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) online at www.fda.gov/ to see if there is any information available about the product or practice.
- Information specifically about dietary supplements can be found on the FDA’s website at www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ and on the website of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements at ods.od.nih.gov.
- Visit the FDA’s webpage on recalls and safety alerts at www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/. The FDA has a rapid public notification system to provide information about tainted dietary supplements. See www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds/TDS/rss.xml.
- Check with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov to see if there are any enforcement actions for deceptive advertising regarding the therapy. Also, visit the site’s Consumer Information section at www.consumer.ftc.gov.
How does the provider or manufacturer describe the approach?
- Beware of terms like “scientific breakthrough,” “miracle cure,” “secret ingredient,” or “ancient remedy.”
- If you encounter claims of a “quick fix” that depart from previous research, keep in mind that science usually advances over time by small steps, slowly building an evidence base.
- Remember: if it sounds too good to be true—for example, claims that a product or practice can cure a disease or works for a variety of ailments—it usually is.

Is That Health Website Trustworthy?

If you’re visiting a health website for the first time, these five quick questions can help you decide whether the site is a helpful resource.

Who? Who runs the website? Can you trust them?

What? What does the site say? Do its claims seem too good to be true?

When? When was the information posted or reviewed? Is it up-to-date?

Where? Where did the information come from? Is it based on scientific research?

Why? Why does the site exist? Is it selling something?

Are You Reading Real Online News or Just Advertising?

Are complementary health approaches tested to see if they work?

While scientific evidence now exists regarding the effectiveness and safety of some complementary health approaches, there remain many yet-to-be-answered questions about whether others are safe, whether they work for the diseases or medical conditions for which they are promoted, and how those approaches with health benefits may work. As the Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on health interventions, practices, products, and disciplines that originate from outside mainstream medicine, NCCIH supports scientific research to answer these questions and determine who might benefit most from the use of specific approaches.

I’m interested in an approach that involves seeing a complementary health practitioner. How do I go about selecting a practitioner?

Your primary health care provider or local hospital may be able to recommend a complementary health practitioner.
The professional organization for the type of practitioner you’re seeking may have helpful information, such as licensing and training requirements. Many states have regulatory agencies or licensing boards for certain types of complementary health practitioners; they may be able to help you locate practitioners in your area.
Make sure any practitioner you’re considering is willing to work in collaboration with your other health care providers.
For more suggestions, see NCCIH’s 6 Things To Know When Selecting a Complementary Health Practitioner and Credentialing, Licensing, and Education.

Can I receive treatment or a referral to a complementary health practitioner from NCCIH?

NCCIH does not provide treatment or referrals to complementary health practitioners. NCCIH’s mission is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary health approaches and their roles in improving health and health care.

Can I participate in a clinical trial of a complementary health approach?

NCCIH supports clinical trials on complementary health approaches. These trials are taking place in many locations, and study participants are needed. To learn more or to find trials that are recruiting participants, visit NIH Clinical Research Trials and You. The site includes questions and answers about clinical trials, guidance on how to find clinical trials through ClinicalTrials.gov, and other resources and stories about the personal experiences of clinical trial participants.

If you don’t have access to the Internet, contact the NCCIH Clearinghouse for information.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://nccih.nih.gov/

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov(link sends email)

Know the Science

Explaining How Research Works (NIH)

Know the Science: 9 Questions To Help You Make Sense of Health Research

Understanding Clinical Studies (NIH)

Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

ODS seeks to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements by evaluating scientific information, supporting research, sharing research results, and educating the public. Its resources include publications (such as Dietary Supplements: What You Need To Know) and fact sheets on a variety of specific supplement ingredients and products (such as vitamin D and multivitamin/mineral supplements).

Website: https://ods.od.nih.gov/

Email: ods@nih.gov(link sends email)

MedlinePlus

To provide resources that help answer health questions, MedlinePlus (a service of the National Library of Medicine) brings together authoritative information from the National Institutes of Health as well as other Government agencies and health-related organizations.

Information on complementary and integrative health approaches

Website: https://www.medlineplus.gov/

NIH Clinical Research Trials and You

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created a website, NIH Clinical Research Trials and You, to help people learn about clinical trials, why they matter, and how to participate. The site includes questions and answers about clinical trials, guidance on how to find clinical trials through ClinicalTrials.gov and other resources, and stories about the personal experiences of clinical trial participants. Clinical trials are necessary to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases.

Website: https://www.nih.gov/health-information/nih-clinical-research-trials-you

PubMed®

Website: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The FDA oversees the safety of many products, such as foods, medicines, dietary supplements, medical devices, and cosmetics. See its webpage on Dietary Supplements.

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-463-6332

Website: https://www.fda.gov/

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC is the Federal agency charged with protecting the public against unfair and deceptive business practices. A key area of its work is the regulation of advertising (except for prescription drugs and medical devices).

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-877-382-4357

Website: https://www.ftc.gov/

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

Anxiety at a Glance

Batoota — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 16:38:35 +0000

Anxiety at a Glance

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or fear about an event or situation. It’s normal for people to feel anxious in response to stress. Sometimes, however, anxiety becomes a severe, persistent problem that’s hard to control and affects day-to-day life; if you have this type of problem, you may have an anxiety disorder. About 19 percent of U.S. adults have an anxiety disorder in any given year, and an estimated 31 percent have an anxiety disorder at some time in their lives. Anxiety disorders are generally treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. If you think you may have an anxiety disorder, talk with your health care provider.

Researchers are examining ways in which complementary and integrative approaches might reduce anxiety or help people cope with it. Some studies have focused on the anxiety that people experience in everyday life or during stressful situations, while others have focused on anxiety disorders.

What the Science Says

Complementary approaches can be classified by their primary therapeutic input (how the therapy is taken in or delivered), which may be:

Nutritional (e.g., special diets, dietary supplements, herbs, probiotics, and microbial-based therapies).
Psychological (e.g., meditation, hypnosis, music therapies, relaxation therapies).
Physical (e.g., acupuncture, massage, spinal manipulation).
Combinations such as psychological and physical (e.g., yoga, tai chi, dance therapies, some forms of art therapy) or psychological and nutritional (e.g., mindful eating).

Nutritional approaches include what the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) previously categorized as natural products, whereas psychological and/or physical approaches include what was referred to as mind and body practices.

Some complementary health approaches may help to relieve anxiety during stressful situations, such as medical procedures. Less is known about whether complementary health approaches can help to manage anxiety disorders.

Psychological and Physical Approaches

Relaxation techniques may reduce anxiety in people with chronic medical problems and those who are having medical procedures. However, cognitive behavioral therapy (a type of psychotherapy) may be more helpful than relaxation techniques in treating at least some types of anxiety disorders.
Although some studies suggest that acupuncture might reduce anxiety, the research is too limited to allow definite conclusions to be reached.
Hypnosis has been studied for anxiety related to medical or dental procedures. Some studies have had promising results, but the overall evidence is not conclusive.
In some studies in people with cancer or other medical conditions, massage therapy helped to reduce anxiety; however, other studies did not find a beneficial effect. Little research has been done on massage for anxiety disorders, and the studies that have been done have had conflicting results.
Studies have looked at the effects of interventions involving mindfulness meditation on anxiety in various groups of people, including cancer patients, people with other chronic diseases, family caregivers, pregnant women, health care providers, employees, and students. Many but not all of these studies indicated that mindfulness was helpful for anxiety. There’s some evidence that Transcendental Meditation may have a beneficial effect on anxiety. There hasn’t been enough research to know whether mindfulness or other types of meditation are helpful for anxiety disorders.
There is evidence that listening to music can reduce anxiety during illness or medical treatment.
Studies suggest that meditative movement therapies (tai chi, qi gong, or yoga) might reduce anxiety, but the research is too limited to allow definite conclusions to be reached.
Reiki and therapeutic touch have not been shown to be helpful for anxiety.

Nutritional Approaches

Two studies, both supported by NCCIH, suggest that a chamomile extract might be helpful in managing generalized anxiety disorder, but the studies are preliminary, and their findings are not conclusive.
Kava may have a beneficial effect on anxiety. However, the use of kava supplements has been linked to a risk of severe liver damage.
Melatonin has been studied as a possible alternative to conventional anxiety-reducing drugs for patients who are about to have surgery, and the results have been promising.
There isn’t enough evidence on passionflower or valerian for anxiety to allow any conclusions to be reached.

Other Complementary Approaches

Aromatherapy and homeopathy haven’t been shown to be helpful for anxiety.

Side Effects and Risks

Psychological and/or physical approaches are generally safe for healthy people if properly performed by a qualified practitioner or taught by a well-trained instructor. As with any physical activity, practices that involve movement, such as yoga, pose some risk of injury. People with health conditions and pregnant women should talk with their health care providers about any complementary health approaches they are considering and may need to modify or avoid some of them.
Dietary supplements may have side effects and interact with medications.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://nccih.nih.gov/

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov(link sends email)

Know the Science

Explaining How Research Works (NIH)

Know the Science: 9 Questions To Help You Make Sense of Health Research

Understanding Clinical Studies (NIH)

PubMed®

Website: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

Antioxidants

Batoota — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 07:38:25 +0000

Antioxidants: In Depth

Introduction

Antioxidants are man-made or natural substances that may prevent or delay some types of cell damage. Diets high in vegetables and fruits, which are good sources of antioxidants, have been found to be healthy; however, research has not shown antioxidant supplements to be beneficial in preventing diseases. Examples of antioxidants include vitamins C and E, selenium, and carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. This fact sheet provides basic information about antioxidants, summarizes what the science says about antioxidants and health, and suggests sources for additional information.

Key Points

Vegetables and fruits are rich sources of antioxidants. There is good evidence that eating a diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruits is healthy, and official U.S. Government policy urges people to eat more of these foods. Research has shown that people who eat more vegetables and fruits have lower risks of several diseases; however, it is not clear whether these results are related to the amount of antioxidants in vegetables and fruits, to other components of these foods, to other factors in people’s diets, or to other lifestyle choices.
Rigorous scientific studies involving more than 100,000 people combined have tested whether antioxidant supplements can help prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and cataracts. In most instances, antioxidants did not reduce the risks of developing these diseases.
Concerns have not been raised about the safety of antioxidants in food. However, high-dose supplements of antioxidants may be linked to health risks in some cases. Supplementing with high doses of beta-carotene may increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Supplementing with high doses of vitamin E may increase risks of prostate cancer and one type of stroke.
Antioxidant supplements may interact with some medicines.
Tell all of your health care providers about any complementary and integrative health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

About Free Radicals, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants

Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that are naturally formed when you exercise and when your body converts food into energy. Your body can also be exposed to free radicals from a variety of environmental sources, such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, and sunlight. Free radicals can cause “oxidative stress,” a process that can trigger cell damage. Oxidative stress is thought to play a role in a variety of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and eye diseases such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

Antioxidant molecules have been shown to counteract oxidative stress in laboratory experiments (for example, in cells or animal studies). However, there is debate as to whether consuming large amounts of antioxidants in supplement form actually benefits health. There is also some concern that consuming antioxidant supplements in excessive doses may be harmful.

Vegetables and fruits are healthy foods and rich sources of antioxidants. Official U.S. Government policy urges people to eat more vegetables and fruits. Concerns have not been raised about the safety of any amounts of antioxidants in food. For more information on antioxidants in foods, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture webpage on antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Use of Antioxidant Supplements in the United States

A 2009 analysis using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2000 and 2001–2002) estimated the amounts of antioxidants adults in the United States get from foods and supplements. Supplements accounted for 54 percent of vitamin C, 64 percent of vitamin E, 14 percent of alpha- and beta-carotene, and 11 percent of selenium intake.

Safety

High-dose antioxidant supplements may be harmful in some cases. For example, the results of some studies have linked the use of high-dose beta-carotene supplements to an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers and use of high-dose vitamin E supplements to increased risks of hemorrhagic stroke (a type of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain) and prostate cancer.
Like some other dietary supplements, antioxidant supplements may interact with certain medications. For example, vitamin E supplements may increase the risk of bleeding in people who are taking anticoagulant drugs (“blood thinners”). There is conflicting evidence on the effects of taking antioxidant supplements during cancer treatment; some studies suggest that this may be beneficial, but others suggest that it may be harmful. The National Cancer Institute recommends that people who are being treated for cancer talk with their health care provider before taking supplements.

For more information about the safety of dietary supplements, see the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) fact sheet Using Dietary Supplements Wisely.

What the Science Says

Several decades of dietary research findings suggested that consuming greater amounts of antioxidant-rich foods might help to protect against diseases. Because of these results, there has been a lot of research on antioxidant supplements. Rigorous trials of antioxidant supplements in large numbers of people have not found that high doses of antioxidant supplements prevent disease. This section describes the preliminary research findings, the results of the clinical trials, and possible explanations for the differences in study results.

Observational and Laboratory Studies

Observational studies on the typical eating habits, lifestyles, and health histories of large groups of people have shown that those who ate more vegetables and fruits had lower risks of several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and cataracts. Observational studies can provide ideas about possible relationships between dietary or lifestyle factors and disease risk, but they cannot show that one factor causes another because they cannot account for other factors that may be involved. For example, people who eat more antioxidant-rich foods might also be more likely to exercise and less likely to smoke. It may be that these factors, rather than antioxidants, account for their lower disease risk.

Researchers have also studied antioxidants in laboratory experiments. These experiments showed that antioxidants interacted with free radicals and stabilized them, thus preventing the free radicals from causing cell damage.

Clinical Trials of Antioxidants

Because the results of such research seemed very promising, large, long-term studies—many of which were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—were conducted to test whether antioxidant supplements, when taken for periods of at least a few years, could help prevent diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer in people. In these studies, volunteers were randomly assigned to take either an antioxidant or a placebo (an identical-looking product that did not contain the antioxidant). The research was conducted in a double-blind manner (neither the study participants nor the investigators knew which product was being taken). Studies of this type—called clinical trials—are designed to provide clear answers to specific questions about how a substance affects people’s health.

Among the earliest of these studies were three large NIH-sponsored trials of high-dose supplements of beta-carotene, alone or in combination with other nutrients. These trials, completed in the mid-1990s, all showed that beta-carotene did not protect against cancer or cardiovascular disease. In one trial, beta-carotene supplements increased the risk of lung cancer in smokers, and in another trial, supplements containing both beta-carotene and vitamin A had the same effect.

More recent studies have also found that in most instances antioxidant supplements did not help to prevent disease. For example:

The Women’s Health Study, which included almost 40,000 healthy women at least 45 years of age, found that vitamin E supplements did not reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, age-related macular degeneration, or cataracts. Although vitamin E supplements were associated with fewer deaths from cardiovascular causes, they did not reduce the overall death rate of study participants.
The Women’s Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study found no beneficial effects of vitamin C, vitamin E, or beta-carotene supplements on cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular diseases) or the likelihood of developing diabetes or cancer in more than 8,000 female health professionals, aged 40 years or older, who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease. Antioxidant supplements also did not slow changes in cognitive function among women in this study who were aged 65 or older.
The Physicians’ Health Study II, which included more than 14,000 male physicians aged 50 or older, found that neither vitamin E nor vitamin C supplements reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease), cancer, or cataracts. In fact, vitamin E supplements were associated with an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in this study.
The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT)—a study of more than 35,000 men aged 50 or older—found that selenium and vitamin E supplements, taken alone or together, did not prevent prostate cancer. A 2011 updated analysis from this trial, based on a longer followup period of study participants, concluded that vitamin E supplements increased the occurrence of prostate cancer by 17 percent in men who received the vitamin E supplement alone compared with those who received placebo. There was no increase in prostate cancer when vitamin E and selenium were taken together.

Unlike the studies described above, two large studies on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in older adults, found a beneficial effect of dietary supplements that include antioxidants. Both studies were sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

The first study, called AREDS (for Age-Related Eye Disease Study), showed that a combination of antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene) plus zinc and copper reduced the risk of progression of intermediate AMD to advanced AMD by 25 percent over 5 years. However, during the period when this study was performed, other research showed that taking beta-carotene supplements increases the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke cigarettes.
The second study, called AREDS2 (for Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2), showed that the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin are an appropriate replacement for beta-carotene in the supplement formula. Unlike beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin did not increase lung cancer risk, and 10-year followup data on the study participants showed that lutein and zeaxanthin were more effective than beta-carotene in reducing the risk of progression of AMD.

Why Don’t Antioxidant Supplements Work?

Most clinical studies of antioxidant supplements have not found them to provide substantial health benefits. Researchers have suggested several reasons for this, including the following:

The beneficial health effects of a diet high in vegetables and fruits or other antioxidant-rich foods may actually be caused by other substances present in the same foods, other dietary factors, or other lifestyle choices rather than antioxidants.
The effects of the large doses of antioxidants used in supplementation studies may be different from those of the smaller amounts of antioxidants consumed in foods.
Differences in the chemical composition of antioxidants in foods versus those in supplements may influence their effects. For example, eight chemical forms of vitamin E are present in foods. Vitamin E supplements, on the other hand, typically include only one of these forms—alpha-tocopherol. Alpha-tocopherol also has been used in almost all research studies on vitamin E.
For some diseases, specific antioxidants might be more effective than the ones that have been tested. For example, to prevent eye diseases, antioxidants that are present in the eye, such as lutein, might be more beneficial than those that are not found in the eye, such as beta-carotene.
The relationship between free radicals and health may be more complex than has previously been thought. Under some circumstances, free radicals actually may be beneficial rather than harmful, and removing them may be undesirable.
The antioxidant supplements may not have been given for a long enough time to prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases or cancer, which develop over decades.
The participants in the clinical trials discussed above were either members of the general population or people who were at high risk for particular diseases. They were not necessarily under increased oxidative stress. Antioxidants might help to prevent diseases in people who are under increased oxidative stress even if they don’t prevent them in other people.

If You Are Considering Antioxidant Supplements

Do not use antioxidant supplements to replace a healthy diet or conventional medical care, or as a reason to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem.
If you have age-related macular degeneration, consult your health care providers to determine whether supplements of the type used in the AREDS trial are appropriate for you.
If you are considering a dietary supplement, first get information on it from reliable sources. Keep in mind that dietary supplements may interact with medications or other supplements and may contain ingredients not listed on the label. Your health care provider can advise you. If you are pregnant or nursing a child, or if you are considering giving a child a dietary supplement, it is especially important to consult your (or your child’s) health care provider.
Tell all of your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

NCCIH- and NIH-Funded Research

Researchers supported by NCCIH and other components of NIH are conducting a variety of studies using antioxidant supplements.

Topics of recent NCCIH research on antioxidants include:

The ways in which two chemical forms of vitamin E affect inflammation
The biological effects of selenium on immune function
The effects of a range of doses of alpha-lipoic acid on oxidative stress
The effects of alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine on inflammation in people with sickle cell disease.

NCCIH also funds a center of excellence for research on antioxidant therapies, which is conducting studies on the effects of antioxidants on various diseases and on aging.

Other components of NIH are also sponsoring research on antioxidants. Recent topics include:

The effects of antioxidant therapy in Alzheimer’s disease
The roles of oxidation and antioxidants in breast cancer risk
Whether antioxidants from pomegranate can help prevent or treat prostate cancer
Whether anthocyanins (a group of antioxidants from berries) can help prevent esophageal cancer.

For More Information

NCCIH Clearinghouse

Toll-free in the U.S.: 1-888-644-6226

Telecommunications relay service (TRS): 7-1-1

Website: https://nccih.nih.gov/

Email: info@nccih.nih.gov(link sends email)

Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures & Results (RePORTER)

RePORTER is a database of information on federally funded scientific and medical research projects being conducted at research institutions.

Website: https://reporter.nih.gov

MedlinePlus

Website: https://www.medlineplus.gov/

Key References

Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration and vision loss. AREDS report no. 8. Archives of Ophthalmology. 2001;119(10):1417–1436.
Albanes D, Heinonen OP, Taylor PR, et al. Alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplements and lung cancer incidence in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study: effects of base-line characteristics and study compliance. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 1996;88(21):1560–1570.
Chew EY, Clemons TE, Agrón E, et al. Long-term outcomes of adding lutein/zeaxanthin and ω-3 fatty acids to the AREDS supplements on age-related macular degeneration progression: AREDS2 report 28. JAMA Ophthalmology. June 2, 2022. [Epub ahead of print].
Christen WG, Glynn RJ, Chew EY, et al. Vitamin E and age-related cataract in a randomized trial of women. Ophthalmology. 2008;115(5):822–829.
Christen WG, Glynn RJ, Chew EY, et al. Vitamin E and age-related macular degeneration in a randomized trial of women. Ophthalmology. 2010;117(6):1163–1168.
Christen WG, Glynn RJ, Sesso HD, et al. Age-related cataract in a randomized trial of vitamins E and C in men. Archives of Ophthalmology. 2010;128(11):1397–1405.
Chun OK, Floegel A, Chung SJ, et al. Estimation of antioxidant intakes from diet and supplements in U.S. adults. Journal of Nutrition. 2010;140(2):317–324.
Cook NR, Albert CM, Gaziano JM, et al. A randomized factorial trial of vitamins C and E and beta carotene in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events in women: results from the Women’s Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007;167(15):1610–1618.
Crowe FL, Roddam AW, Key TJ, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and mortality from ischaemic heart disease: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Heart Study. European Heart Journal. 2011;32(10):1235–1243.
Gaziano JM, Glynn RJ, Christen WG, et al. Vitamins E and C in the prevention of prostate and total cancer in men: the Physicians’ Health Study II randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009;301(1):52–62.
Goodman M, Bostick RM, Kucuk O, et al. Clinical trials of antioxidants as cancer prevention agents: past, present, and future. Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 2011;51(5):1068–1084.
Jerome-Morais A, Diamond AM, Wright ME. Dietary supplements and human health: for better or for worse? Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2011;55(1):122–135.
Klein EA, Thompson IM Jr, Tangen CM, et al. Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). JAMA. 2011;306(14):1549–1556.
Lee IM, Cook NR, Gaziano JM, et al. Vitamin E in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: the Women’s Health Study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005;294(1):56–65.
Lin J, Cook NR, Albert C, et al. Vitamins C and E and beta carotene supplementation and cancer risk: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2009;101(1):14–23.
Lippman SM, Klein EA, Goodman PJ, et al. Effect of selenium and vitamin E on risk of prostate cancer and other cancers. JAMA. 2009;301(1):39–51.
Nakayama A, Alladin KP, Igbokwe O, White JD. Systematic review: generating evidence-based guidelines on the concurrent use of dietary antioxidants and chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Cancer Investigation. 2011;29:655–667.
Omenn GS, Goodman GE, Thornquist MD, et al. Effects of a combination of beta carotene and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;334(18):1150–1155.
Sesso HD, Buring JE, Christen WG, et al. Vitamins E and C in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in men: the Physicians’ Health Study II randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008;300(18):2123–2133.
Song Y, Cook NR, Albert CM, et al. Effects of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene on the risk of type 2 diabetes in women at high risk of cardiovascular disease: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009;90(2):429–437.

Acknowledgments

NCCIH thanks Ock Chun, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Connecticut; Balz Frei, Ph.D., Oregon State University; Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., Stanford University; and D. Lee Alekel, Ph.D., and John (Jack) Killen, Jr., M.D., NCCIH; for their technical expertise and review of the update of this publication.

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.